Work intensity is of central importance for organisational performance, as well as workers' health and well‐being, yet its determinants at the workplace‐level remain underresearched. This article ...addresses this gap by examining consequences of working time adjustments for work intensity and the role of control over scheduling in influencing when working time adjustments have stronger effect on work intensity. Working hours are analysed on three dimensions: duration, distribution and flexibility. Analysis uses the European Working Conditions Survey (2005–2015) and a sample of employees from EU28 countries. Findings reveal that work intensity is closely related to the timing of work. Working long days or weeks, at night, on weekends, and with changes in hours imposed by employers is associated with more intense work. Moreover, the impact of non‐standard hours on work intensity differs depending on who (workers or employers) has control over their scheduling.
This study uses mixed methods to explore Chinese primary school teachers’ working time allocation after the enactment of the “Double Reduction” Policy. Data were collected from 364 questionnaires and ...six subsequent in-depth interviews. Findings reveal that despite having brought about some benefits, the “Double Reduction” Policy has increased Chinese primary school teachers’ working time. Moreover, the teachers’ working time is unevenly allocated, with disproportionately more time devoted to subject teaching and less time devoted to professional development. As a result, the nature of the different types of Chinese primary school teachers’ working time further affect the teachers’ perceived workload and work-related stress. Therefore, it is recommended that teachers recieve greater support and time for their ongoing professional development.
The book examines how occupations as contextual factors shape men's part-time transitions. It identifies occupational gender segregation and occupational working time arrangements as central ...influencing factors. Although part-time work is more common in female-dominated occupations, it is mainly occupational working time arrangements that structure men's part-time transitions. Moreover, part-time work leads to significant career disadvantages for men independently from the occupational contexts.
In den jüngeren Generationen wünschen sich Männer zunehmend ein neues männliches Rollenmodell und mehr Zeit für nicht-erwerbsbezogenen Lebensbereiche. Auch wenn die Teilzeitarbeit von Männern im Laufe der letzten 30 Jahre angestiegen ist, so besteht nach wie vor eine erhebliche Lücke in der Nutzung von Teilzeitarbeit zwischen Männern und Frauen. Vor diesem Hintergrund beschäftigt sich dieses Buch gezielt mit der Frage, welche strukturellen Barrieren für die Teilzeitbeschäftigung von Männern auf der Ebene von Berufen bestehen. Ausgehend von der Lebensverlaufsperspektive werden die Übergänge von Vollzeit- in Teilzeitbeschäftigung, der Wechsel aus Teilzeit- in Vollzeittätigkeiten sowie die Nachteile durch Teilzeitarbeit beim Aufstieg in eine Leitungsposition untersucht. Als strukturelle Einflussfaktoren werden die berufliche Geschlechtersegregation und berufliche Arbeitszeitarrangements in den Blick genommen.
In this paper, the thermal performance of thermoelectric cooler (TEC) in thermal management of a cylindrical battery module is investigated. The battery module consisted of 18650 test batteries in ...3 × 5 array embedded in the copper foam impregnated with organic phase change material (PCM) for heat transfer enhancement. In the experimental test, the transient and steady-state thermal performances were examined base on the thermoelectric cooling in comparison with the natural convection and liquid cooling conditions. The characteristic PCM melting stages were identified to correlate with the maximum temperature and temperature difference in the battery module. In comparison, the thermoelectric cooling reduced the battery temperature and prolonged the working time significantly. The optimal current was experimentally obtained to be about 6.0–6.5 A based on the highest cooling power or lowest battery temperature, which is close to the optimal range based on the steady-state theoretical analysis. Further analysis shows that the optimal current is affected markedly by the hot-side thermal resistance, but little by the cold-side thermal resistance. Increasing the number of TEC thermoelectric arms by reducing the spacing has a favorable effect in improving the coefficient of performance (COP) of the TEC module.
•Battery thermal management based on the TEC cooling with impregnated PCM composite investigated.•TEC cooling reduced the maximum battery temperature and prolonged working time.•Characteristic PCM melting processes with TEC cooling identified for battery module.•Agreement is found between theoretical analysis and experimental measurements.
Reducing per capita consumption, particularly amongst high income groups, is often deemed necessary to reduce the environmental impacts of the global economy. Far from implying a necessary reduction ...in wellbeing, some research suggests this could actually improve it: as reduced expenditure means a reduced need for income, and hence paid work, then there is the possibility for average working hours to fall, providing increased leisure time in which to pursue happiness through less consumption-intensive, but more time consuming, ways. To date, however, there has been little critical discussion of the details of what policy might need to cover to allow and encourage substantial working time reduction in a way that successfully reconciles these environmental and wellbeing goals. This article addresses this gap in the literature. It begins by reviewing the conditions under which working time reduction could bring environmental and wellbeing benefits. It then presents examples of innovative voluntary working time policies from the Netherlands and Belgium. Drawing these elements together, the article presents a new “green life course approach” for working time policy design. It argues that, as a complement to more conventional working time policies, this could be a valuable tool to combine environmental and wellbeing goals.
•Working time reduction (WTR) has a potentially important role in a sustainable economy.•Conceptual approaches to designing effective WTR policies are still underdeveloped.•Environmental and wellbeing considerations for such policies are reviewed.•Experience from innovative real-world working time policies is presented.•These are drawn into a new conceptual approach to voluntary WTR policy design.
Abstract This introduction to the special issue on the future of work and working time offers an overview of issues of relevance to present-day debates on working time. The aim is to bring together ...two divergent debates, the first on working time reduction for full-time workers and the second on the diversification and fragmentation of working time. It considers the history of working time including the forces that led to the establishment of the standard employment relationship and to reductions in standard working hours. It addresses contemporary trends and examines why there has been both a stalling of working time reduction and a diversification of working time norms. Some limitations of focussing only on clock time are considered as well as some of the benefits, from more meaningful work to better health and well-being, that stem from both regular and non-excessive working time. The final section turns to the case for reform: it argues that policies are required to address the fragmentation of working time, and that these policies should be combined with a focus on shortening standard working hours that could increase the sustainability of working time in a dual-earner society and even limit the supply of labour for jobs offering only fragmented working time.
Working time flexibility comprises a wide variety of arrangements, from part-time, overtime, to long-term leaves. Theoretical approaches to grouping these arrangements have been developed, but ...empirical underpinnings are rare. This article investigates the bundles that can be found for various flexible working time arrangements, using the Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance, 2004/2005, covering 21 EU member states and 13 industries. The results from the factor analyses confirmed that working time arrangements can be grouped into two bundles, one for the employee-centred arrangements and second for the employer-centred arrangements, and that these two bundles are separate dimensions. We also tested the stability of the factor analysis outcome, showing that although we find some deviations from the pan-Europe and pan-industry outcome, the naming of the components as flexibility for employees and flexibility for employers can be considered rather stable. Lastly, we find three country clusters for the 21 European countries using the bundle approach. The first group includes the Northern European countries along side Poland and Czech Republic, the second group the continental European countries with UK and Ireland, and lastly, the southern European countries with Hungary and Slovenia.
The development of an industrial product arises with various problems and product quality that has high value. One example of a product that needs to be redesigned is a wheelbarrow or handcart. The ...wheelbarrow is a simple material conveyance which is pushed by hand, one wheel and one operator through the handle. This research aims at an ergonomic and economical handcart, so as to produce a product that can be useful for medium-sized industries and can increase efficiency and increase work productivity. This research was carried out by redesigning the product as a development, where this product is usually used in a building called a traditional material conveying tool, then calculating the axle and pedal stress on a wheelbarrow. In this study it can be concluded that the wheelbarrow or wheelbarrow is designed more ergonomically with several changes including changes in the height of the stalk from the ground to minimize bending when lifting the wheelbarrow, changes in shape and size of the supports to accommodate various lifting positions, other things, changes in shape and the size of the body so that when lifting and pushing the wheelbarrow, the load is more balanced, the addition of a jack to make it easier for users to spill loads from the body, the addition of two rear wheels to make it easier to push the wheelbarrow, and change the handle to make it easier for users
Evidence shows that working time mismatch, i.e. the difference between actual and desired working hours, is negatively related to employees' job satisfaction. Using longitudinal data from the German ...Socio-Economic Panel, we examine the potential moderating effect of working time autonomy on this relation and we also consider the corresponding role of gender. First, individual fixed effects panel estimations reaffirm both the negative link of working hours mismatch and the positive relation of working time autonomy to employees' job satisfaction. Second, our results show a positive moderating relation of working time autonomy on the link between mismatch and job satisfaction. Third, our analyses hint at gender-specific differences: particularly women seem to benefit from the moderation role of working time autonomy.
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